Thirteen Reasons Why book and tv series.

This is the new cover based on the actors of the tv series. I loved these actors! They did an awesome job on a tough subject and yes there is some very graphic scenes that I was crying my eyes out over. Heck I was crying on almost every episode and generally I don't like stories or movies that make me cry but this really resonated with me.

Here is the original book cover and nope still not read it but I am now that I have seen tv show.



both images from amazon!

Module 8: Science Fiction and Fantasy

Book Cover

Book Summary:

APA Reference of Book:
Campbell, C. M. (2013). The rise of renegade X. [Place of publication not identified]: Golden City Publishing.
Impressions:

Professional Review:

Gr 9 Up-Damien Locke lives in an alternate universe inhabited by superheroes, supervillains, and regular people. If you are a hero, a letter H appears on your thumb when you turn 16. If you are a villain, you get a V. On his 16th birthday, Damien gets an X. He is half hero, half villain, the product of a one-night stand between his mad-scientist supervillain mother and superhero father Crimson Flash, otherwise known as Gordon Tines. Gordon is certain that his son will become a full-fledged hero, but the teen is equally certain that he is going to end up a villain, and is counting on admission to Vilmore, the villain academy. While he tries to make life for his father and stepfamily unbearable, Damien's mom is hooking up with the head of Vilmore romantically as well as using her hypno-device to take over the city, and Damien is forced to choose sides. This scenario certainly works as a metaphor for the shades of gray teens have to deal with as they struggle to find their identity. The book is definitely for older teens, as there is a significant semi-explicit focus on Damien's messed-up love life as he tries to reconcile with his villain ex-girlfriend, Kat, while stringing along his new hero love interest, Sarah. This is the YA equivalent of a B movie.

Wadham, T. (2010). The Rise of Renegade X. School Library Journal, 56(7), 82.

Library Uses:

My Rating:

Module 7 Realistic Fiction

Book Cover:




Book Summary:
Melinda is ostracized at school when she calls the cops at a party. But we really don't know why the cops are called until later in the books. Melinda starts to not speak and we come to find out that Melinda was raped and her behavior was her way of trying to deal with it.

APA Reference of Book:

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak (1st ed.). New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Impressions:

I really identified with Melinda in this book. I pretty much loved school but sat in class and didn't participate or speak up and I just didn't get the whole hoopla about high school. I was bullied a lot in high school because I was quiet, always reading,  not good looking, wore funky clothes, and I wore glasses. Now as an adult I ask myself why didn't I ever say anything or do something about it. But I realize I was too scared and we didn't talk about things like that then.  So I totally got why Melinda was afraid even though I was not ever raped or even put into a situation close to this. The writing was authentic to me and I could see teens acting or speaking this way (or at least when I was a teen lol). One of the best realistic fiction books I have read (I don't tend to read a lot of this genre for teens I read more fantasy). I would recommend that all teens read this and discuss the issues in this book even though it is a tough topic and the tone in the book at times was dark or depressing.

Professional Review:

Gr. 8-12. Having broken up an end-of summer party by calling the police, high school freshman Melinda Sordino begins the school year as a social outcast. She's the only person who knows the real reason behind her call she was raped at the party by Andy Evans, a popular senior at her school. Slowly, with the help of an eccentric and understanding art teacher. she begins to recover from the trauma, only to find Andy threatening her again. Melinda's voice is distinct unusual, and very real as she recounts her past and present experiences in bitterly ironic, occasionally even amusing vignettes. In her YA fiction debut, Anderson perfectly captures the harsh conformity of high-school cliques and one teen's struggle to find acceptance from her peers. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers.

Carton, D. (1999). Speak. The Booklist, 96(2), 247. Retrieved from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/235408112?accountid=7113

Library Uses:
This would be after the class has read the book. Read poems “Alone,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” and “Still I Rise.” by Maya Angelou who Melinda refers to in the story. Discuss why would Anderson use Maya Angelou as someone who Melinda finds comfort or strength in. Find parts in the poems that may have spoken to Melinda or that Melinda may have liked and discuss why.

My Rating: *****

Module 5 Coretta Scott King Award

Book Cover:




Book Summary:

Rashad a black teen goes into a store to get chips and a white lady trips on him when he bends over to get his phone. The store clerk and cop believe he is stealing and the cop beats up Rashad and sends him to the hospital for a weeks. A white boy Quinn sees what happens and knows the cop as a family friend. As Rashad heals in the hospital and his family deal with what happened, the community becomes divided about what really happened. Quinn also comes to deal with what he saw and how he should respond. The school becomes a hotbed of activity for what happened and a movement and protest to support Rashad forms as the book closes.

APA Reference of Book:
Reynolds, J., & Kiely, B. (2015). All American boys. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Impressions:

Wow. This was a very gritty book about something that is still happening today. I liked the intro and ending with the zooming in and out and showing the big picture.  I really thought that this was a very good telling from both view points, the black teen and the white teen. Reynolds really did go to the root of the problem with even if you stay neutral you are part of the problem. He showed how at first Quinn had no problem but as the story progressed how he started thinking about it and how his view of this person he knew changed based on what he saw that day and what had happened in previous memories of Quinn's.  It also showed how Rashad didnt want to get more involved but started to see that he didn't need to hide or be afraid to vlice his opinion about what happened.  I thought it was interesting that Reynolds didn't have a trail take place. It made the focus on the two boys and how everyone was impacted rather than what may have happened in a trial which I think was a smart move.


Professional Review:

Two teenage boys, one black (Rashad) and one white (Quinn), are inextricably linked when Quinn witnesses Rashad being savagely beaten with little or no provocation by a policeman who has served as Quinn’s de facto big brother since his father was killed in Afghanistan—and whose younger brother is one of Quinn’s best friends. Can Quinn simply walk away from this apparent atrocity and pretend he hasn’t seen what he has seen? And what of Rashad? Hospitalized with internal bleeding, all he wants is to be left alone so he can focus on his art. The challenge for both boys becomes more intense when the case becomes a cause célèbre dividing first their school and then the entire community. The basketball team becomes a microcosm of split loyalties and angry disputes that come to a head when a protest march powerfully demonstrates the importance of action in the face of injustice. With Reynolds writing Rashad’s first-person narrative and Kiely writing Quinn’s, this hard-edged, ripped-from-the-headlines book is more than a problem novel; it’s a carefully plotted, psychologically acute, character-driven work of fiction that dramatizes an all-too-frequent occurrence. Police brutality and race relations in America are issues that demand debate and discussion, which this superb book powerfully enables.  — Michael Cart

Cart, M. (2015, September 15). Review . Booklist.

Library Uses: 
I am not sure how I would use this in the library. Possibly to talk about what you would do if it was your friend, what side would you take? Would you speak up and go to the protest or would you just go along with what the coach or the mom was saying and only worry about you and the team?

My Rating: ****